As the Soviet Union was grappling with its worsening economy, leading reformers in Moscow had drawn up a blueprint for change that was designed to push the nation much closer to a free-market system.

"The proposals go far beyond the current and rather confused policies of perestroika, Mikhail Gorbachev's restructuring of the economy," the Journal wrote. "They lay out a clear timetable and methodology for liberalizing the system of setting prices, breaking up huge industrial monopolies and putting unprofitable state-owned companies out of business. They also address such taboo subjects as the likelihood of unemployment and high inflation, and recommend ways to soften the social consequences."

The blueprint attracted widespread attention "because of its comprehensiveness and presumed high-level authorship."

"It's clearly a manifesto for the next stage of perestroika," said one analyst.

East and West: As the Wall Fell

See a timeline of events that precipitated the fall of the Berlin Wall, as they played out in the pages of The Wall Street Journal.

The economic ideas were much bolder than current policies. "But the proposals also display political savvy, couching some of the most controversial ideas in cautious language so as not to alienate powerful conservatives in the government who stand to lose out if they are implemented," the Journal wrote.

Still, some Western observers worried Mr. Gorbachev wouldn't be able to survive his own reforms. Writing on the editorial pages of the Journal, Marjorie Brady, of the Russian Research Foundation in London, said: "If Mr. Gorbachev's goal is the creation of a free market, he and these Western observers have good reason to fear for his future, as economic liberalization within communist societies leads inexorably to demands for fundamental political reform accompanied by civil unrest."

Meanwhile, the new East German leader Egon Krenz was preparing to travel to Moscow for talks with Mr. Gorbachev as near daily pro-democracy protests raged in East German cities.

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